


Color, Heat, and Music

by Quilly



Series: The Garden of Fate [1]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Multi, Soulmate AU, in which these dumb children realize it takes three to make it work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-11
Packaged: 2018-04-25 20:25:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4975336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quilly/pseuds/Quilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Karkat lost the colors when he was a child. Suddenly, he can see them again--but he can't tell which one of these two people he's looking at are the soulmate he's found.</p><p>Jade has held hands with others, but it's felt lukewarm to her until now.</p><p>Dave has a secret and no amount of talking will ever complete his world--so he thinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Color, Heat, and Music

**Author's Note:**

> part of a huge soulmate request thing i did about a year ago, i think. the soulmate AU attached to this one was "OT3 soulmate idea, a person rounds a corner and suddenly sees two people in full color instead of in black&white. The other two have no idea how they're going to meet their soulmates. They try stuff out to see who belong together. It's only when all three of them, simultaniously, hold hands that one of them gets his/her insight. Last one thinks they're not a part of the pair, so they try to leave (cus they were really starting to like the others) but then something happens and BAM! OT3."

==>Karkat: Find soulmates

Your name is Karkat Vantas and _oh my gog this can’t be happening_.

 

But it _is_.

When you were little you could still see color; sometime around the age of seven everything leached away, and you had run to your mother, crying. She explained to you that it meant it was time for you to start meeting your soulmates, and you hadn’t understood.

Some faded smudges came back when you met your best friend Gamzee, and a little bit more after you met Sollux and Eridan and John and all your other friends. You never did get it all back; everything was just too washed-out. You envied Sollux, who had two names written on the inside of his wrists, and felt better about it after you heard about Nepeta’s sister Meulin, who was deaf until she met hers.

But right now…oh, now…

You’re sitting in a coffee shop, because you need some time to work on your novel and _not_ because you’re a sobbing romantic (thcrew you, Thollukth). You just looked up to hear who was making the obnoxious loud laughter, and suddenly, everything is—everything is _vibrant_ —like it’s more real, more full of blood, more full of life, and at the center of your blooming idyllic masterpiece are two people. _Two_. They’re both the brightest things by far, almost hurts  you to look at—intense green eyes, curly dark hair, and amazing bronze skin on her, and feather-light blond hair, insane freckles, and a smirk on him. Your heart thumps hard in your chest.

You stand, light-headed, and walk towards them like a zombie. He notices you first, and you can just barely see his eyes flick over you behind his shades and then narrow. She sees you second, smiles politely.

“Uh, hi,” you say, and take a minute to recover because _wow_ they are blinding, this close. “I—I just—” You have realized that “I’m your soulmate” is possibly the worst line to lead with, but you are scrambling to think of something else to say. “I’m—”

“A dweeb?” the blond supplies, and you recover enough to glare, glare at him so he knows how much you hate him in this moment, and then you have to look away because his _shirt_ of all things is making your eyes hurt. This is too much.

“I was going to say your soulmate, but hey, if you’re content to let true love slip through your clumsy ape hands like an idiot, be my guest,” you say, and turn to go, your cheeks on fire because _what did you just say_ —

“Wait!”

You feel a hand close on yours and are spun around.

==>Jade: Find soulmates

Your name is Jade Harley and wow, this is so sudden!

One second you’re out for lunch with your (really cute, super funny, ultra-nerd) friend Dave, and the next, some random guy is calling himself your soulmate!

Well, he might’ve been talking to Dave and not you, but you were watching him as he walked over; he was looking at _both_ of you like you were made of gold or something. Dave has a look on his face like he swallowed sour milk as you grab the guy’s hand, and you almost let go, because a warm tingle starts up in your fingers you’ve only felt once. But this is the most interesting thing that’s happened all day. Might as well see if there’s anything to it! You doubt somebody would make it up in a coffee shop on a Tuesday afternoon, anyway. Maybe Friday night at the club, but not here and now.

You spin the guy back around, and…it’s weird, because the look on his face says “come at me bro” but the hunch of his shoulders says “don’t hit me please.”

“I’m going out on a limb here,” you say, “but I’m guessing you’re not the kind of guy who just says stuff like that to get a reaction.”

He seems to shrink further, shaking his head.

“No, I just,” he says, and pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and fingers. “I don’t know. It’s…”

“Come sit with us,” you say, noticing his laptop and coffee sitting on an abandoned table not far away. “We can talk about it.”

The guy goes to get his stuff, Dave leans over and latches onto your wrist. Another ripple of warmth goes up your arm.

“You know this guy could be a whackjob, right?” he says in a low voice. “What kind of freak goes up and says that to random strangers?”

“Someone who might be telling the truth,” you whisper back. “Come on, aren’t you curious to see which one of us he’s talking about?”

He sits back in his bench and looks out the window, ignoring his smoothie. You steal it and slide down the bench for the guy to sit next to you.

“I’m Karkat,” he says once he’s settled. “And I promise I’m not a whackjob, I’m just…having a weird day.” He rubs his eyes like they’re bothering him.

“I’m Jade,” you say, “and that butt over there is Dave.” Dave shifts, but he does that whenever you say his name so you’ve learned to tune it out, because he isn’t saying why it bugs him. “What happened to make you think one of us is your soulmate?”

He glances sidelong at you, and you notice that his eyes look almost red from the side, though from straight-on they’re brown. Thick-lashed and currently narrowed in some kind of snarl at Dave, which is a little more attractive than you’d like to admit. He scrubs a hand through his thick hair.

“I haven’t been able to see colors since I was a kid,” he says shortly. “Until about five seconds ago, I thought I wasn’t going to see them ever again.” He stares at his hands. “I’m sorry I don’t have a better answer than that, but one second I’m living my usual dreary existence, and then I looked up and…” he trails off and bites on his lip shyly. It’s adorable.

“So,” you say, “do you know which one of us it is?”

He looks at you and shrugs. “Could be either one of you. I saw you both at the same time.”

Dave finally looks over, his face smooth and expressionless to all but the most practiced observer. To you, one corner of his mouth is twitched downward in the tiniest of frowns and there is a barely-there wrinkle between his eyebrows. He’s irritated, but interested.

“Well, that settles it,” you say, and duck down the last of your smoothie. “Dave, either finish that or give it to me. We have a mission.”

“A mission?” Dave deadpans as he passes his smoothie to you. Karkat looks at you like you’re crazy.

“We’re gonna help this guy figure out which one of us is his soulmate,” you say, and Dave rolls his eyes. Karkat glares at him. You smile.

“Fine, whatever,” Dave says. “Better than dicking around my bro’s shop.”

“That’s the spirit,” you say briskly, and start shoving Karkat out of the bench. “Come on, boys, there’s science to be done!”

“Everything is science to you,” Dave deadpans, but falls in step beside you. Karkat swings his laptop bag onto his shoulder and when he thinks you aren’t looking chews his lip and looks _hopeful_. Aww.

You lead your merry crew to a nearby park, which is mostly deserted in the wake of school starting and perfect for shenanigans.

“Don’t suppose either of you are lucky enough to have my name written on you somewhere?” Karkat says, in a voice that means he doesn’t think you’d be lucky at all.

“Nope,” you say cheerfully. “No names on me! My brother did, but his kept changing with every person he met and finally just turned into four different names. Dave has a birthmark that looks kind of like a Chihuahua but we don’t think that’s a soulmate mark.”

“Don’t talk about Taco Bell that way,” Dave says. “He represents my deep and abiding love for tacos. Our love can never be. What happens when you keep eating the bride.”

“Do you even hear the dribble that leaks from your facehole sometimes?” Karkat asks, and Dave flips him off.

“I have a few theories, though,” you say, and make yourself at home on a picnic table. The boys sit on the benches as you perch on the top of the table. “I don’t know how my soulmate is supposed to manifest and I don’t think Dave knows either unless he actually managed to lie to me for once, so we’re gonna have to do some tests.”

Karkat leans on his arms and looks expectant. Dave leans back and tries to pretend he’s examining a crow rather than pay attention to you. Dork. You bop his nose and he looks at you, mouth working on not smiling.

So you try some stuff. You say his name (Karkat Vantas, that’s different), and Dave says his name, but neither of you feel anything. You list off all the songs you know, but Karkat knows more of the songs Dave knows than you and neither of them look like any one song strikes them. You try to read his mind, Dave tries pinching himself, but no matter what you do, neither one of you nor Karkat feel any different. Karkat keeps rubbing his eyes, but he looks less like a wonderstruck kid as time wears on and more like a cat that’s gotten used to being kicked.

“None of this is working,” he says, and grinds the heels of his hands into his eyes.

“Are you okay?” you ask, putting your hand on his shoulder. A feeling more like a prickle goes up your arm this time, and you get an idea.

“No, I’ve got a massive headache,” he says. “Not used to everything being so…bright.”

“I’m sorry,” you say sympathetically, and once he’s stopped rubbing his eyes you reach over and grab his hand. Your hand tingles. You look at Dave, who is actually zoned out, and grab his hand, too.

A heat like you’ve never felt before surges through you, like green fire in your veins. You feel like you can feel every tilt and change in the universe—a butterfly’s wingflap, a hurricane in China, a shift of rocks deep below the surface, stars moving silently in their orbits. You squeeze both their hands.

“Oh,” you say, and Karkat looks up. You let go of their hands and examine them, looking for changes, but they’re still your same hands. Your heart is still hammering with everything you’re still feeling.

“Karkat,” you say, “I’m your soulmate.”

You didn’t mean for it to come out that way. But Dave is shying away and you are so _excited_ —you grab Karkat’s hand and feel it again, fainter like an echo. “It worked! We’re soulmates!”

Karkat’s uncertain expression melts into a small smile, and he squeezes your fingers.

But something still isn’t right…what isn’t right?

==>Dave: Find soulmates

Your name is Dave Strider and, uh, no thanks, you’re good.

You never thought the soulmate thing was that big a deal anyway. When you were growing up, all kinds of kids got their marks—names, symbols, freckle configurations. Some couldn’t hear music, some couldn’t dream. You? Nothing.

That is…until the first time Jade said your name, and you thought you heard some kind of beat behind it. A bassline, maybe. And every time thereafter, that same beat, like a half-remembered tune. Only ever when _she_ said it.

You thought you knew what it meant, but you ignored it. You ignored it right up until the moment Karkat Vantas looked at her like she was made of rainbows and your heart thudded against your ribcage.

The urge to hit the guy never really went away, though you did have the thought that you’d help him back up to his feet afterwards as you paid more attention to him. The guy is a wreck, a hopeless romantic with his soulmate in front of him and you can tell he wants it so badly to be her. He looks at you sometimes like he isn’t sure, then you make a flippant comment and his cheeks get red and he looks away scowling. Jade’s enthusiasm is catching, because when she suggests you pinch yourself to see if Karkat can feel it, you do, really stretching out your cheek and making a face. Karkat’s mouth quirks, almost breaks into a grin, but he fights it down. You want to know what a guy’s gotta do to make him actually laugh.

Well, that’s dumb, why would you want that?

Jade grabs your hand and you don’t think much of it. She’s big on physical affection. You keep checking your messages on your phone. It’s when she draws in a sharp breath and lets go that you pay attention.

“We’re soulmates,” she says to Karkat, and your stomach bottoms out.

He looks at her with sparkling anime eyes of kawaii and she looks at him with her goofy grin of goofiness and you stand up, because you can’t handle this.

“Glad we sorted that out,” you say in a flat sort of way. Jade looks at you and she looks _hurt_. Why would she even? “Got stuff to do. Congratulations.”

You are four feet away when—

“Dave!”

They say it together, one of those unrehearsed moments of unison that are so rare in life. Jade says it hurt like she doesn’t want you to leave and Karkat says it panicked like you’re a lifeline that’s floating away. Your name floats on the wind and then reverberates—your bones vibrate with the sound, your ears fill with the bass and with a simple melody overlaid you’ve never heard before but fits just right. You spin around, wide-eyed, for once not bothering to mask anything, and in a few strides you’re back.

Jade grabs your hands again, and you and Karkat look at each other before you join hands, and nothing so earth-shattering as music playing and volcanoes erupting happens again, but it feels…right.

“Soulmates,” Karkat says, dazed, and Jade giggles. “Two of them. Uh.”

“Kinky,” you say, and Karkat’s nails scrape the back of your hand.

“Doofus,” Jade says, affectionately, and somehow you all end up way too close and sort of leaning on each other. It’s awkward. It’s a little uncomfortable. It’s awesome.

Soulmates, you repeat to yourself, and every time one of them says your name, every day after, you hear a snatch of a song you know you could never nail down anyway. No song could replicate the sound of your name on your lovers’ lips.

You owe Dirk five bucks for betting against multiples running in the family.


End file.
